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Secrets to Success Deborah Cole Micek |
Success is a choice
'You're as successful as you want to be." Just try and throw this statement out at your next networking function or family gathering and watch the sparks fly. Emotions may flare up, yet it will not discount the validity of this statement.
To prove this point and show you how we may limit ourselves by the choices we make, I'll give you three very simple examples.
The three-letter word that can cost you millions: One of the ways my clients go out of bounds in our coaching calls is by using the word "but." Consistently using this three-letter word will cost you relationships, sales and money-making growth opportunities. "But" shuts down communication, turns off your creativity and turns you into a victim.
Ask yourself if you've ever been guilty of saying any of the following statements: "But that won't work." "But I've always done it this way." "But I've tried everything." "But I don't have a college education." "But I don't want to do that."
Repeating any one of these statements will limit your future success. And stopping the use of this dirty, three letter word is under your control.
The four-letter word for "victim": When you use the word "can't," you're training your brain to shut down by focusing on how something won't work before you ever have the chance to consider the possibilities of how it might work.
Countless business owners have become enormously successful because they saw how something could be done, while everyone else saw all the reasons why it couldn't. (Can you say "Fed Ex?") You "can't do that in my industry" is an excuse for poor performance and a cry of victimhood. Make the conscious choice to banish the word "can't" from your vocabulary and watch the growth opportunities begin to appear in your life.
The green giant
Passing judgment on people who are more financially successful is one of the most dangerous ways to keep you struggling. It's the easy way for people to feel better about themselves and cover the fact that they're simply green with envy. Rather that asking "how?" they'd rather point their finger and condemn others for succeeding.
How do you refer to people who make substantially more money than you? Common terms such as, "rich, lucky, out of touch, born into it or greedy" subconsciously limit your success because it programs your brain to think something is "abnormal" with making big bucks.
If you think riches are laid out for just a few lucky people, you won't work towards acquiring riches, because it'll seem like a logistical impossibility.
Take a statement as common as, "He/she is actually pretty friendly and down to earth, for a millionaire." This statement shuts down your motivation to succeed. It implies the majority of millionaires are mean, greedy and heartless. After all, who wants to aspire to that kind of negative identity?
When negative thoughts about people who are more successful than you are expressed on a consistent basis, you'll subconsciously move in the opposite direction.
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Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer
of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach
and life strategist. Reach her at DCM@RPMsuccess.com
or (888) 334-8151.